witch
a person, especially a woman, who professes or is supposed to practice magic or sorcery; a sorceress: This novel was about a meek businessman marrying a beautiful witch who uses her magic to help him succeed in business.: Compare warlock.
a woman who is supposed to have evil or wicked magical powers: The movie features stereotypical witches in black robes and pointed hats.
a person who practices magic as a spiritual observance, especially as associated with neopaganism or Wicca: She became a witch after an interest in tarot and astrology led her to classes at a local mystic shop.
an ugly or mean old woman; hag: She was constantly in conflict with the old witch who used to own the building.
a person who uses a divining rod; dowser: They hired a water witch to find the best location for the new well.
to bring or cause by or as if by witchcraft (often followed by into, to, etc.): She witched him into going.
Archaic. to affect as if by witchcraft; bewitch; charm.
to prospect with a divining rod; dowse: She witches for water, oil, and minerals, but won't take money for her services.
of, relating to, or designed as protection against witches: Bad weather, decreased income, and weak government may have contributed to the witch trial period in Europe.A witch bottle contained a number of different objects and ingredients to make up a defensive spell.
Origin of witch
1Other words from witch
- witch·hood, noun
- witch·like, adjective
- un·der·witch, noun
Words Nearby witch
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use witch in a sentence
You would think I’d be sick of reading about catastrophes after a god-awful year, but I found Gabbert’s collection of essays about our darkest moments, including September 11, Chernobyl, witch hunts, and, yes, pandemics, to be strangely comforting.
He also asks about quitting, witch trials, and whether we need a Manhattan Project for climate change.
“We Get All Our Great Stuff from Europe — Including Witch Hunting.” (Ep. 446) | Steven D. Levitt | January 7, 2021 | FreakonomicsHe still loves Halloween, and this Saturday his house’s decorations will be themed around the “Hocus Pocus” witches.
Put on a frightful face: This former CNN makeup artist got his start in horror | John Kelly | October 28, 2020 | Washington PostTikTok, with its 49 million daily users in the US, is impossibly diverse, a home for comedians and singers and witches and police officers and protesters.
Mulan runs away from home to take her father’s place in the army and fight a powerful witch.
Women like Mulan didn’t need to go to war in disguise | Bethany Brookshire | September 4, 2020 | Science News For Students
He once experimented with dressing as “Hilda the Wicked witch” as a way to expand his business to Halloween.
Kerry Bentivolio: The Congressman Who Believes in Santa Claus | Ben Jacobs | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBreitbart forced her to correct a small part of her story, but witch hunts like these will leave every victim cowering.
In her mind, the entire ordeal was a witch-hunt led by the local authorities.
She faces a jury of famous villains and a judge from the Salem witch trials.
Likewise, pressure must be placed on Egypt to abandon its witch hunt of the Muslim Brotherhood.
To Beat ISIS, the Arab World Must Promote Political and Religious Reforms | Rula Jebreal | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBelle, my mother, and I rode home about midnight in a fine display of lightning and witch-fires.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis StevensonBut the witch was more furious than ever, and as soon as I raised my axe to chop, it twisted around and cut off one of my arms.
The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank BaumThe witch did not wish me to marry the girl, so she enchanted my sword, which began hacking me to pieces.
The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank BaumIt was while she was away on this errand that Dorothy's house fell on the Wicked witch, and she turned to dust and blew away.
The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank BaumHalgernon was a barrystir—that is, he lived in Pump Cort, Temple: a wulgar naybrood, witch praps my readers don't no.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush | William Makepeace Thackeray
British Dictionary definitions for witch (1 of 3)
/ (wɪtʃ) /
historically, in mythology and fiction, a woman believed to practise magic or sorcery, esp black magic
a practitioner of a Nature-based religion founded on ancient beliefs, which honours both a male and female divine principle and includes the practice of magic, esp healing magic, and divination
informal, derogatory an ugly or wicked woman
a fascinating or enchanting woman
short for water witch
(tr) to cause or change by or as if by witchcraft
a less common word for bewitch
Origin of witch
1Derived forms of witch
- witchlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for witch (2 of 3)
/ (wɪtʃ) /
a flatfish, Pleuronectes (or Glyptocephalus) cynoglossus, of N Atlantic coastal waters, having a narrow greyish-brown body marked with tiny black spots: family Pleuronectidae (plaice, flounders, etc)
Origin of witch
2British Dictionary definitions for witch- (3 of 3)
having pliant branches: witchweed
Origin of witch-
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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